Ohio Schools in JPM P-Card Deal

Ohio's public higher education system said it has agreed to use purchasing card services from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

The University System of Ohio said last week that it had signed a five-year agreement with JPMorgan Chase in part to reduce the costs associated with the paper-based purchasing done by Ohio's 14 public universities and 23 community colleges (some have their own purchasing card agreements with other vendors).

"By collaborating on this project, we are able to become more efficient, which in turn can result in less pressure to raise tuition," Bruce Johnson, the president of the Inter-University Council of Ohio, said in a press release.

Today eight Ohio colleges and universities use the JPMorgan Chase purchasing card system and have issued cards to 8,700 people. The cards are used for purchases of less than $1,500 and are expected to be used substantially for travel expenses. The University System said the purchasing card system's ability to automatically generate transaction reports would save it time and money.